Waste food disposer mounting assembly

ABSTRACT

A sink mount support assembly for a waste food disposer includes a connecting member which contains a slidable locked member for attaching the connecting member to a sink drain sleeve. The connecting member, which is attached to the upper end of a disposer hopper, is axially aligned and lifted toward its installed position on a sink drain sleeve with the locking member in an unlocked position. When positioned on the sink sleeve, the locking member is placed in a locked position by circumferentially moving a handle attached to the member. Movement of the handle causes a cam surface on the connecting member to engage a cam on the locking member thereby causing the locking member to move radially inward toward the surface of the sink sleeve and into a circumferential locking slot thereon. This places the disposer in a first rotatable position on the sink sleeve wherein it can be axially manually rotated to align with plumbing fittings. Thereafter, by tightening set screws, the hopper of the disposer is sealed in drain flow communication with the sink sleeve and the disposer is firmly positioned whereby axial rotation is prevented. The assembly is disconnected by reversing the above procedure.

United States Patent [1 1 Guth 1 1 WASTE FOOD DISPOSER MOUNTING ASSEMBLY Lauren W. Guth, Louisville, Ky.

[73] Assignee: General Electric Company,

Louisville, Ky.

22 Filed: Sept. 28, 1972 [21] Appl.No.:292,970'

[75] v inventor:

Primary Examiner-Alfred R. Guest Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Francis H. Boos [11] 3,827,730 Aug. 6, 1974 [5 7 1 ABSTRACT A sink mount support assembly for a waste food disposer includes a connecting member which contains a slidable locked member for attaching the connecting member to a sink drain sleeve. The connecting member, which is attached to the upper end of a disposer hopper, is axially aligned and lifted toward its installed position on a sink drain sleeve with the locking member in an unlocked position. When positioned on the sink sleeve, the locking member is placed in a locked position by circumferentially moving a handle attached to the member. Movement of the handle causes a cam surface on the connecting member to engage a cam on the locking member thereby causing the locking member to move radially inward toward the surface of the sink sleeve and into a circumferential locking slot thereon. This places the disposer in a first rotatable position on the sink sleeve wherein it can be axially manually rotated to align with plumbing fittings. Thereafter, by tightening set screws, the hopper of the disposer is sealed in drain flow communication with the sink sleeve and the disposer is firmly positioned whereby axial rotation is prevented. The assembly is disconnected by reversing the above procedure.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAIENIEBms SIBH sum 2 or 4 PATENTEU BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to means for mounting a food waste disposer and more particularly pertains to a mounting assembly for coupling a disposer directly to a tubular drain sleeve beneath a sink.

It has for years been common practice to suspend a food waste disposer from a tubular drain sleeve fastened in sealed relation in the drain opening of a sink. The tubular sleeve has undergone changes through the years from a particularly heavy cast body to a comparatively thinwalled construction generally of stainless steel.

In mounting assemblies being used at the present time it is generally the practice to provide upper and lower support rings or connecting members that are firmly fastened in spaced-apart position on the drain sleeve prior to bringing the disposer into position for connection thereto. Commonly, the sink sleeve is provided with a radially inwardly directed circumferential slot adjacent the lower end thereof for receiving a snap ring. The snap ring forms a shoulder about the sink sleeve on which the lowermost of the support rings is engaged by the inward edge thereof. A plurality of circumferentially spaced-apart screws or bolts, extending upwardly through respective threaded holes provided therefor in the lowermost support ring, are used to exert a force between the upper and lowermost support ring whereby the upper ring is forced against the under surface of the sink circumjacent the sink sleeve and the lowermost ring is urged downwardly tightly against the snap ring on the sink sleeve. Such an arrangement as heretofore described is clearly taught and shown in US. Pat.No. 3,198,443 issued to L. W. Guth et al. on Aug. 3, 1965. In the drawing of that patent it will be seen that the aforedescribed arrangement provides a means for firmly attaching and sealing the sink sleeve in the drain opening of a sink before any attempt is made to connect the upper end of the disposer hopper to the sink sleeve. For the purpose of directly connecting the upper end of the hopper in sealed relation to the sink sleeve, a number of different quick-connect means, in addition to the arrangement shown in the Guth et al patent, may be found in the prior art.

The present invention comprehends a comparatively less expensive and simplified mounting arrangement for connecting a disposer to a sink sleeve beneath a sink that differs substantially from the prior art by obviating the need for one of the aforementioned support rings and by requiring a simpler different combination of steps to complete the installation as compared to the prior art heretofore generally described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises an assembly to support a waste food disposer in its operative position beneath a sink. The disposer is connected by its hopper to a connecting member or support ring. The connecting member is resiliently attached to the hopper adjacent the hoppers upper end and is adapted to fit about the sink-supported sink sleeve. The connecting member has cam-guided locking means thereon which is adapted to be cammed inwardly to engage the sink sleeve whereby the connecting member is held on the sink sleeve. Though the hopper is held on the sink sleeve as heretofore described, it may be axially manually rotated to facilitate connection of plumbing fittings and electrical wiring to the disposer. The assembly further includes means to complete the installation of the disposer whereby the hopper is no longer free to be manually rotated but is held firmly in drain flow communication on the sink sleeve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an overall isometric view of the upper end of a waste food disposer and the presently preferred embodiment of an improved assembly for connecting the disposer to a sink in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along lines 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded isometric view showing several of the parts of the improved mounting assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of a connecting member that is a part of the illustrated embodiment of the present mounting assembly of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a view in vertical section of a sealing means in the form of a resilient boot component of the present invention as shown as it appears attached on the upper end of a disposer hopper before being placed into its operative position relative to the other components in the assembly of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 there is illustrated a disposer hopper 10 mounted in sealed drain flow communication with a sink or drain sleeve 12. The sink sleeve 12 extends downwardly through the central drain opening of a sink l4 and has a radially outwardly extending flange 16 that resides in a depression therefor formed in the sink 14 circumjacent the drain opening thereof. Disposed circumjacent the sink sleeve and in contact with the undersurface of the sink 14 is a clamping ring 18 and beneath the clamping ring 18 is a retaining ring 20 which is utilized temporarily to hold the clamping ring 18 in place during the installation of the mounting assembly. An annular resilient means 22 may be utilized between the clamping ring 18 and the undersurface of the sink 14 as an aid in preventing chipping where the assembly is being mounted on a sink having a vitreous enamel finish. A water tight seal between the flange 16 of the sink sleeve 12 and the sink 14 may be assured by employing a putty-type sealant 24 beneath the flange 16.

The upper end of the hopper 10 has a diameter slightly larger than the sink sleeve and has an annular rubber boot 28 fastened thereto by means of a metal clamping strap or band 30 (see FIG. 6) which serves as a means of suspending the hopper of the disposer from a clamping ring or connecting member 32. The connecting member 32 has integral spaced-apart downwardly projecting arm portions 34 having finger portions 36 projecting radially inwardly beneath the undersurface of the annular boot 28. Spaced circumferentially about the support ring 32 are threaded openings or holes 38 to accommodate respective screws 40 therethrough. The support ring 32 has an outer peripheral edge that projects downwardly in the form of a skirt 42. This skirt 42 is recessed at two spaced-apart points on one side of the support ring, as shown in FIG. 3, whereby inwardly projecting bosses or camming surfaces 44 are formed along the undersurface of the support ring 32.

An arcuate slot 46 is provided through the support ring 32 at a position substantially intermediate the bosses 44 to accommodate the extension therethrough of a handle 48 of a locking member 50 disposed to slide against the undersurface of the support ring 32. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the locking member 50 is a substantially flat member having an arcuate inward edge or locking portion 52 corresponding to the arcuate shape of the sink sleeve side wall, and oppositely disposed rounded shoulder portions 54 that serve as cams to direct the path of movement of the locking member 50 as will be hereafter described in further detail. The inward arcuate edge 52 of the locking member serves, in combination with oppositely disposed integral arcuate edge portions 56 of the support ring 32, as a means of locking the support ring into the annular groove 26 on the sink sleeve 12. The arcuate edge portions 56 are disposed lower than the main body portion of the support ring 32 whereby they occupy the same horizontal plane as the locking members arcuate edge 52.

To facilitate rapid installation of a disposer in its operative position beneath a sink, the disposer would preferably be shipped from the factory with the support ring 32 in position on the upper end of the hopper 10, with the annular rubber boot 28 fastened to the hopper lip 58 by means of the clamping band 30. As shown in FIG. 6, the boot 28 is grooved to accept the lip 58 of the hopper therein. The metal band 30 has bracket portions such as 60 integral therewith and means such as a nut and bolt 62 for drawing the band tightly around the rubber boot and forcing it against the side wall of the hopper 10.

Referring to FIG. 4, installation of a disposer on a sink, by use of the coupling assembly of the present invention, begins with the step of slipping the tubular sink sleeve 12 down through the central sink drain opening whereby the flange 16 comes to rest against the top surface of the sink circumjacent the sink drain opening. The sealing compound 24 may be utilized beneath the flange 16 to assure a water-tight seal between the flange 16 and the sink. With the sink sleeve 12 in position, as shown in FIG. 4, a resilient means such as the gasket 22 is slipped upwardly over the sink sleeve and then the collar or clamping ring 18 is moved up over the lower end of the sink sleeve whereby it pushes the gasket 22 upwardly against the sinks undersurface. The retaining ring is provided with inwardly projecting circumferentially spaced-apart teeth 60 which extend inwardly to bind against the side wall of the sink sleeve 12 whereby, when the retaining ring 20 is pushed upwardly against the undersurface of the clamping ring 18, the other components shown in FIG. 4 are thereby held temporarily in installed position on the sink 14 while the remainder of the installation is completed. The installer will not be concerned with holding the clamping ring 18 up against the sink or having it fall out of place while he is bringing the disposer into position beneath the sink sleeve.

The disposer, with the support member 32 loosely held on the upper end of the hopper by means of the fastened annular rubber boot 28, is axially aligned beneath the sink sleeve 12 and then moved upwardly whereby the plurality of inwardly projecting annular lips of the rubber boot (see FIG. 6) engage the outer surface of the sink sleeve 12. The disposer is then ad- 5 justed relative to the sink sleeve 12 such that the support ring inner edges 56 (see FIG. 5) and the edge 52 of the locking member 50 are vertically aligned with the groove 26 of the sink sleeve 12. Then the installer manually moves the handle 48 of the locking member 50 laterally whereby the inward edge 50 thereof seats in the sink sleeve groove 26 and exerts a force against the sink sleeve 26 such that the edges 56 of the support member are pulled into the groove 26 at the opposite side of the sink sleeve 12. This action is more specifi- 5 cally described hereafter.

The movement of the locking member 50 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The phantom outline of the locking member 50 in FIG. 3 shows its position prior to manual movement thereof to lock it on the sink sleeve 12. In this unlocked position the shoulders 54 of the locking member are disposed outwardly against the inside surface of the skirt 42 of the support ring 32. The locking member is manipulated by exerting a lateral force against the protruding handle 48 whereby it is caused to move in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. During this movement the shoulders 54 serve as cams which move against the camming surfaces 44 whereby the entire locking member 50 is caused to move inwardly to the position shown by the dotted outline in FIG. 3. This radial inward movement of the locking member 50 causes the arcuate edge 52 thereof to move into the groove 26 of the sink sleeve 12, and the camming action of the locking member shoulders 54 against the camming surfaces 44 causes the entire support ring 32 to shift slightly whereby the integral arcuate edges 56 thereof also move into the annular groove 26 of the sink sleeve 12. Once the locking member 50 has been manipulated as heretofore described, the support ring 32 is locked to the sink sleeve whereby the disposer is suspended therebelow, but the entire assembly, including the sink sleeve, may be axially rotated to facilitate connection of a plumbing fitting such as 64 shown in FIG. 1 or electrical wire connections (not shown). Thereafter, each of the plurality of screws 40 is screwed upwardly against the undersurface of the clamping ring 18 and tightened whereby a force is exerted between the clamping ring 18 and the support ring 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the clamping ring 18 may be provided with detents 66 as a means of properly seating the upper ends of the screws 40 and maintaining the screws in proper alignment. This force is translated through the support ring 32 and into the groove 26 whereby the sink sleeve 12 is forced downwardly. Thus, the flange 16 is firmly sealed against the sink 14 and axial rotation of the disposer relative to the sink is thereafter prevented. Removal of the disposer from the sink involves a reversal of the steps heretofore de scribed, including loosening the screws 40 so that the locking member 50 can be manipulated away from the sink sleeve 12.

I claim:

1. An assembly to support a waste food disposer hopper from a sink comprising:

65 a. a sink sleeve member supported by the sink;

b. a connecting member fixedly attached to the hopper adjacent the upper end thereof and adapted to fit about the sink sleeve; and

c. cam-guided locking means on the connecting member and adapted to be cammed to engage the sink sleeve whereby the connecting member is held on the sink sleeve.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means for removably connecting the "connecting member to the sink sleeve includes a slidable locking member having an inwardly extending locking flange adapted to circumferentially engage the surface of the sink sleeve and a shoulder cam means adapted to engage a camming surface positioned on the surface ofathe connecting member wherein lateral circumferential movement of the shoulder cam means causes radially inward movement of the locking flange against the sink sleeve, thereby attaching the connecting member to the sink sleeve.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein the slidable locking member includes a portion extending beyond the outer circumference of the connecting member whereby a force can be applied thereto to cause movement "of the locking member.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein the slidable locking member is substantially disposed on the underside of the connecting member.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein the sink sleeve has an annular groove adapted to lockably receive the locking flange of the slidable locking membet.

6. An assembly to support a waste food disposer hopper from a sink comprising:

a. a sink sleeve member supported by the sink and having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof;

b. a support ring;

c. suspending means associated with the support ring and adapted to attach the hopper in suspension below the support ring;

d. a cam-guided slidable locking means having an inwardly extending locking portion adapted to circumferentially engage the annular groove of the sink sleeve; and

e. a shoulder cam on the locking means adapted to engage a cam surface on the support ring wherein movement of the shoulder cam against the cam surface causes radially inward movement of the locking portion into the annular groove of the sink sleeve, thereby removably connecting the support ring to the sink sleeve. 

1. An assembly to support a waste food disposer hopper from a sink comprising: a. a sink sleeve member supported by the sink; b. a connecting member fixedly attached to the hopper adjacent the upper end thereof and adapted to fit about the sink sleeve; and c. cam-guided locking means on the connecting member and adapted to be cammed to engage the sink sleeve whereby the connecting member is held on the sink sleeve.
 2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein the locking means for removably connecting the connecting member to the sink sleeve includes a slidable locking member having an inwardly extending locking flange adapted to circumferentially engage the surface of the sink sleeve and a shoulder cam means adapted to engage a camming surface positioned on the surface of the connecting member wherein lateral circumferential movement of the shoulder cam means causes radially inward movement of the locking flange against the sink sleeve, thereby attaching the connecting member to the sink sleeve.
 3. The invention as defined in claiM 2 wherein the slidable locking member includes a portion extending beyond the outer circumference of the connecting member whereby a force can be applied thereto to cause movement of the locking member.
 4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein the slidable locking member is substantially disposed on the underside of the connecting member.
 5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein the sink sleeve has an annular groove adapted to lockably receive the locking flange of the slidable locking member.
 6. An assembly to support a waste food disposer hopper from a sink comprising: a. a sink sleeve member supported by the sink and having an annular groove in the outer surface thereof; b. a support ring; c. suspending means associated with the support ring and adapted to attach the hopper in suspension below the support ring; d. a cam-guided slidable locking means having an inwardly extending locking portion adapted to circumferentially engage the annular groove of the sink sleeve; and e. a shoulder cam on the locking means adapted to engage a cam surface on the support ring wherein movement of the shoulder cam against the cam surface causes radially inward movement of the locking portion into the annular groove of the sink sleeve, thereby removably connecting the support ring to the sink sleeve. 